Multimedia content may be sent from a content provider to a mobile device using a wireless communications network. The content may be provided by streaming the content such that the content may be received at the mobile device and/or provided to an end user of the mobile device. Mobile multimedia streaming may allow the mobile device to begin playback of the media content before the entire media file has been received at the device.
Streaming the multimedia content to a mobile device may be challenging due to the variability of the available bandwidth and the potential demand on the battery during the period of the multimedia experience. Due to the variability of the available bandwidth on the wireless communication network, the power consumed by the radio interface of the mobile device for receiving the multimedia content may be unknown or difficult to determine. Once the multimedia content is received at the mobile device, the decoding and playback of the content may consume additional power that may also be unknown or difficult to determine.
Due to the difficulty in determining the power consumed by the mobile device during the multimedia experience, unnecessary resources are being used by the mobile device and the network to transmit and/or display media data.